With the increasing popularity of the Internet, more network servers require users to sign in thereto. Signing in has numerous benefits for both the user and the network server. The network server benefits by gaining information about the user. Such information may include the user's email address, name, geographical region, and commercial and/or personal preferences, etc. Accordingly, the network server may use such information in a variety of commercially beneficial ways.
The user benefits by having a more dynamic and personalized user experience. In this sense, the network server, as presented to the user in the form of a web page, may have a different ‘look and feel’ or different advertising based on the user's preferences, past experiences, etc. Thus, the site displays information more relevant to the user.
At least in some instances, a network server (first network server), when signing in a user, chooses to use another network server's (second network server) sign in methodology. This alleviates the first network server from creating and maintaining its own sign in process and allows the second network server to generate revenue through licensing its sign in methodology. However, a user attempting to sign into the first network server which is using the sign in methodology of the second network server, has heretofore been presented with a sign in screen that has the look and feel of the second network server and not of the first network server. This unexpected and potentially misleading situation may be upsetting to the user and detracts from the first network server's user experience. As a result, such situation can deter the first network server from using the second network server's sign in methodology.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and an apparatus for allowing a first network server to use the functionality of a second server's sign in methodology yet still maintain the look and feel of the first server during such sign in. That is, a need exists for an ‘in-line’ sign in method.
To further such user experience, there is also a need for a method that allows any error messages to be displayed having the look and feel of the first server despite the error being generated in the second server.
Additionally, to facilitate the transition of a first server adopting the authentication methodology of the second server, there is a need for a dual authentication process that allows users to be authenticated at two servers yet only having to enter the user's login id and password once.